Ghosts
by Lily Angel of Chaos
Summary: Every year Ryou and Malik visit a certain spot to meet the ones they secretly love. Halloween fic, hinted fractureshipping and all those it comes with.


_**Hey! I bet you all thought I had died, huh? Well, school has been killing me (I'm currently procrastinating on my assignments), and I thought I'd try to get back into the swing of writing by writing a Halloween fic. Okay, so it was technically for a contest on dA, but hey, I thought I'd post it here too. **_

_**I have remembered the requests, but unfortunately I'm suffering writer's block on those...no idea what to write AT ALL!**_

_**Also, this doesn't have any blood, which is strange given my tastes in Halloween, but I write sad stuff better than I write horror. So my plan is to make you all cry. Aren't I nice? XD**_

_**Anyway, I'd better stop rambling...on with the story!**_

All Hallows' Eve. Samhain. Halloween. The name given to the thirty first day of the tenth month, or the eighth month by the old calendar. And thirty one plus eight is thirty nine, three times thirteen, the number of the dead. It is no surprise then, that this is the night when the veil between worlds is thin, and at the stroke midnight strange beings may walk on earth in dimensions and colours we cannot see.

It is on this night that two young men walked together through graveyard, each with their hands in their pockets and staring at the ground in front of them as they strode a well-trodden path through the centre to a large oak tree that marked the centre of the graves. The small stone chapel was shrouded in darkness a good fifteen metres away, the small flickering light of a candle in one of the antechambers giving off an eerie light.

The shorter one had long white hair and skin to match, making him look a little like the ghosts that were said to wander around on this cold night, along with a long black trench coat that seemed odd when compared to the innocence in his face. The taller one had bronze skin and golden hair, looking even more out of place than the first with his shining jewellery.

Now, if one were to look at this particular oak tree on a map, they might find something rather peculiar. It was 143° east and 39° north exactly. Both numbers that divide by 13. Perhaps it wasn't just by chance there was a graveyard here.

It was at this oak tree that the two stopped, the tan one stamping his feet in the cold.

"How much longer, Ryou?" He asked. The white one, Ryou, took a look at the black watch circling his wrist.

"Ten minutes. We made it in plenty of time."

"Of course we did." The tan one grinned. "I'm surprised we're not here several hours early thanks to your rushing."

Ryou pouted.

"Shut up, Malik." He told him playfully. "At least we're here...I'm so glad we found out about this place."

"Yeah..." That one comment had sobered them both up and out of the precarious good mood Malik had tried to establish.

They had only found this place thanks to desperation on both of their parts and Ryou's obsession with the occult. Since they had found it just over two years ago, they kept coming back every Halloween, ignoring any calls from their friends and family to go trick or treating. This was far more important.

Over those two years, Ryou and Malik had become much closer than the acquaintances pushed together by circumstance they had been. In fact, one might almost call them partners, though of the more romantic kind than the partners in crime they really were. Then again, this wasn't much of a crime.

Malik had been desperate, almost going mad again before he found out Ryou had the same problem. The difference? Ryou had an idea of what to do. It had taken a long time, but they had found it. The one place in Japan where the veil between life and death was so thin that real spirits could cross over into the real world, if only for a few minutes. However, they were both only after certain spirits.

The church bell began to chime for midnight, a strange fog seeming to roll outwards in a growing circle from the church, creating the eerie atmosphere that was essential for Halloween. And, as the last bell chimed, three spirits appeared beside the tree, not the white spectral ghosts, but distinctive spirits that had maintained their appearance from life. After all, they weren't really dead. Just trapped in hell.

The tallest had dark tanned skin, complimented by his striking silvery hair and dull purple eyes, the right of which had a strangely shaped scar over it. He wore a long, open red robe and what appeared to be a navy skirt. He looked like he belonged more in the desert than a cold graveyard in Japan.

The second tallest, though not by much, also had tanned skin, though his hair was blonde and stuck up in every possible direction, defying gravity. Then again, this man had never been one to follow rules. With a long purple cape, black t-shirt and beige pants, he wore the same clothes he had always worn, though they were a little worse for wear. His golden jewellery looked dull in the fog, though the insanity his eyes shone brighter than the gold ever had.

The shortest, though he himself was not short, had much less defined muscle than the other two, having a more wiry build. He also had skin so pale he could have been mistaken for a vampire, along with long white hair and eyes the colour of dried blood. His hands were in the pockets of his long, black trench coat and he had an annoyed look on his face, though that was there pretty much permanently anyway.

"Mariku!" Malik practically threw himself at the blonde spirit, both males opening their arms as though about to hug each other, forgetting that they couldn't touch. Much to both of their disappointment, their arms passed straight though each other's bodies, leaving nothing but a chilled feeling where they had touched.

Seeing Malik's disappointment, Mariku's grin vanished.

"Sorry, Mal." Malik sniffed and stared at Mariku.

"It's not your fault." Mariku then put his arms around Malik who returned the hug; even though they weren't touching it almost looked like they were.

Meanwhile, Ryou had been talking to Akefia and Bakura.

"Hey, little one." Ryou always blushed when Akefia spoke, maybe because his voice somehow made everything sound like an innuendo even when it wasn't. Or maybe it was the smirk that continually graced his face, making him look devilishly handsome.

"Hi." He whispered back.

"Sorry about, he's in a bad mood...again." Akefia smirked, sending a glance in Bakura's direction making him growl.

"Oh, fuck off."

"I'd rather fuck you." Bakura replied to Akefia's lecherous comment with a middle finger, as per usual. Ryou, however ignored their comments and hugged Bakura, or mimicked the action anyway.

"Thanks for coming, Kura." Bakura was slightly startled by that, even though he really should have expected it. He guessed he just wasn't used to anyone appreciating his presence.

Then again, he hadn't really been able to spend much time with Ryou at all, since he was first controlled by Zork, and then he was sent to the Shadow Realm. However, for some reason, Ryou had wanted to see him again. It had been then he confessed why he had done everything, and, to his surprise, Ryou had accepted. They had gotten closer, even though they only saw each other once a year.

Of course, he also got closer to Akefia; a version of his past self he assumed must have been locked away in his own consciousness, and Mariku, the crazy split personality who had tried to kill him on more than one occasion. Strange, how circumstances pushed old enemies together.

Bakura had also been the first one to notice how close Ryou and Malik were getting, and was the first to mention it. A moment of awkward silence had followed, followed by an argument and then attempted hugs and kisses in which it was all resolved, since none of them wanted a once-in-a-year meeting to end badly. And so, they had reached a shaky, complicated relationship status involving all five of them that didn't really have a name.

But as weird as it was, it made all of them happy.

They kept chatting through the night, sitting and exchanging stories, mostly of Malik and Ryou's lives since the Shadow Realm was boring. Light-hearted laughter could be heard in the air around them, and none of them ever wanted this moment to end. However, it did, as all good things must.

The sun began to peak over the horizon, deep red hues washing across the previously navy sky, and with it their time was up.

"I don't want you to leave."

"Neither do we, love. But we have no choice."

The three spirits dissolved into thin air, leaving to teary eyed hikaris holding each other. Ryou wiped his eyes hurriedly.

"Ever year, I tell myself I'm not going to cry, and then..." Malik's arms tightened around him.

"Yeah...I know."

After a moment to themselves, they stood up in unison, their hands clasped together as they walked out of the cemetery.

"Guess we're alone again." Malik sighed, his head hanging down as he wished he could see Mariku again.

"Not alone." Ryou smiles at him with teary eyes. "I've got you."

Malik smiled and leaned his head on top of Ryou's.

"Yeah." Only three hundred and sixty-five days to go until they could all be together again.

"Happy Halloween, Ryou."

_**So...how was it? **_


End file.
